IGreat review. Thanks. I have an AKG Lyra, which I use for podcasting and voice-overs. For the spoken word, I find it richer and clearer than the Yeti. That said, the vibration issue when on its stand is a problem. Just touching the desk while recording is audible, so it's not something I would consider placing on a piano -- I cringed at the thought even before I heard your recording! And, you're right about having to keep the gain low to avoid distortion and then boost the volume in post production -- but that's not a problem in my instance. Overall, I'm very happy with it, particularly because I got mine in a clearance sale for £32 (about US$40 including sales tax) so my bang for buck must rate at 10.
Thanks for watching, William! I'd agree with you about the tone of the Lyra, it is a bit darker and warmer than the Yeti. If it didn't need to be isolated to prevent the thudding, I probably would have score it about equal with the Yeti, more down to personal preference between the the tone and the stereo image. I think the stereo mode on the Yeti is a bit wider and more open than the Lyra. If I could, I'd mix the tonal quality of the Lyra with the rest of the features of the Yeti haha!
Thank you for this great video and all the information. I am inclined towards the Blue Yeti for my piano recordings. Could you please tell me where you would place the microphone for an upright acoustic piano? Would you put it on the top lid?
Thanks for watching! I’d either put it on the top lid (if your lid half opens with a long lengthwise hinge, that’d be best) or if you don’t need your voice on the recordings, you could try down below the keyboard on the front side of the piano or if you have access to the back/soundboard side, that would also be great. My personal favorite for uprights is micd from the back, but it’s not always possible in home situations!
Always love your videos, i was thinking of buying a USB mic to record my piano but what software are you using in this video to record the sample's of these usb mics most audio boxes use XLR connections not USB for these mics ?
Great question! And thanks for the Super! Sorry for the delay in getting back to you, I just moved this past week! To record audio samples directly from each of the USB mics, I used the stock Quicktime recorder that comes in Apple OS. If you wanted to do more editing to the files later, you could always pull them into a DAW like Garage Band, Pro Tools, Logic, etc and continue post-production. If you're serious about recording your piano and can stretch your budget to $500-$1,000 you can get a better and much more flexible solution that would include a small interface plus 2 mics that you could use for more variety of configurations. Let me know if you have any followup questions!
@PianistAcademy1 I hope the move went well they can be stressful ! Thanks for the information about how you can record it's interesting that you say QuickTime. This might be a long shot but if you have a PC what could you use ? I know OBS can capture audio would that be the same quality as QuickTime?
Absolutely! Have fun with the new mic! If you’re using it for voice as well, there’s a free app by Logitech that has a whole bunch of other features that you can directly interface with the Yeti!
Im planning to buy the blue yetti, will this be a good choice for recording my voice when teaching and the piano playing at the same time?? I make youtube piano lessons
Hey, Pianistics! The Yeti is a good choice yes, especially to get started! At some point, you will want to have your piano and your voice in separate audio feeds because it will be cleaner and give you more options, but at least at the beginning, the Yeti will be a great mic for you.
Thanks so much for this brilliant video. I am inclined to buy Blue Yeti . Please could you give me some advice on recording software . I am recording my Mum playing The wedding song for my son . This will be played via laptop into Bluetooth speaker. I am thinking of recording into garage band or Audacity. Have you any ideas on eq patterns or settings for these or any advice on any other software . Best wishes for the UK and thanks so much
The Yeti is a great mic! If you are looking for a good and free DAW for recording, Garage Band is a great start. There's also Reaper, which many professional engineers use as well. EQ and other settings are so individual to each case that it's almost impossible to give advice without hearing the track in question. What's just about guaranteed is that any "preset" EQ or compression will actually make your recording sound worse, not better. My biggest advice to you would be to have a pair of speakers or a good set of headphones that you will work on, listen very carefully to other professional reference material on them (same instrumentation, same vocal range, same style etc) and use the information your ears gather from those references to help aid in the choices you make about EQ and compression. I wish I could be of more help quickly, but unfortunately there isn't a "quick fix" for small projects!
Great question! I haven’t personally used the nano, but what I’ve read is that the tone is slightly improved from its older, bigger, brother. Improved in that it’s a bit warmer sounding straight from the mic. Maybe I should do a direct comparison between the two!
I have a blue yeti. I agree it transforms the audio for my on-line piano lessons (which are through Zoom). Could you do a program on cameras and camera set-up for on-line lessons and video recordings for those lessons?
@@kelvinpiano So I know that my piano is going to be out of commission for a bit in the near future... having a partial rebuild done on it either starting in April or May. That would probably be a perfect time to film another tech video and tackle the video portion of this topic!
Do you have any feedback on a usb microphone for violin? I am finding a microphone that picks up piano, doesn't pick up violin. My kids do both for online classes. Thanks!
Hi Michelle! What kind of mic have you tried on both? As general rule, most microphones that can work for the piano will also excel with violin, but its the reverse that usually isn't true... much to do with how expansive the frequency range of the piano is vs a more limited range from almost all other instruments. The Yeti (and it's siblings) and also the Lyra that I reviewed here should be more than up to the task of working with a violin. If you have a mic like that and are still having trouble, it might have more to do with the position of the mic than the mic itself. You're going to capture the best sound from a violin if the microphone is in the same "plane" as the soundboard. If you imagine a line coming from the bottom/top of the instrument and extending out at a 90 degree angle, that's, generally, where you need to put a microphone for violin. That means above the instrument (above the student's head) and with the capsules in line with that imaginary line from the instrument. With how most violinist's hold their instrument, that also means not directly in front of the player, but usually up and to their right, again because of how sound comes off the soundboard. If you have a mic stand and one of the microphones that can easily be attached to one, you'll be able to get it up in the air and where it needs to go to more accurately pick up violin. In that position, it'll also very easily pick up voices for communicating back and forth during online lessons. I hope that helps!
Which stand? Just a standard mic stand? Each of these mics comes with the stands used in the video, so unless you'd like to mount it separately or have more flexibility, a basic stand will already be included.
The only issue with your comparisons is that you weren't 'streaming' the audio for a true 'online lesson' comparison. The quality of the mic is but one tiny part of the audio environment when transmitting back & forth. Very helpful comparisons on the overall mic quality though.
If you follow the Google Drive link in the description, there's a folder with recordings made through Zoom, using "Original Audio" and "High Fidelity Music" mode. You can hear my favorite setting for each mic with that audio compression in that folder!
![ปฏิเสธไม่ไหว (Crush on you) - LIPTA feat. No One Else [TEASER MV]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/VC689EgdSIw/mqdefault.jpg)
Great video and really enjoyed what I heard of your original composition
IGreat review. Thanks. I have an AKG Lyra, which I use for podcasting and voice-overs. For the spoken word, I find it richer and clearer than the Yeti. That said, the vibration issue when on its stand is a problem. Just touching the desk while recording is audible, so it's not something I would consider placing on a piano -- I cringed at the thought even before I heard your recording! And, you're right about having to keep the gain low to avoid distortion and then boost the volume in post production -- but that's not a problem in my instance. Overall, I'm very happy with it, particularly because I got mine in a clearance sale for £32 (about US$40 including sales tax) so my bang for buck must rate at 10.
Thanks for watching, William! I'd agree with you about the tone of the Lyra, it is a bit darker and warmer than the Yeti. If it didn't need to be isolated to prevent the thudding, I probably would have score it about equal with the Yeti, more down to personal preference between the the tone and the stereo image. I think the stereo mode on the Yeti is a bit wider and more open than the Lyra. If I could, I'd mix the tonal quality of the Lyra with the rest of the features of the Yeti haha!
Thank you for this great video and all the information. I am inclined towards the Blue Yeti for my piano recordings. Could you please tell me where you would place the microphone for an upright acoustic piano? Would you put it on the top lid?
Thanks for watching! I’d either put it on the top lid (if your lid half opens with a long lengthwise hinge, that’d be best) or if you don’t need your voice on the recordings, you could try down below the keyboard on the front side of the piano or if you have access to the back/soundboard side, that would also be great. My personal favorite for uprights is micd from the back, but it’s not always possible in home situations!
Always love your videos, i was thinking of buying a USB mic to record my piano but what software are you using in this video to record the sample's of these usb mics most audio boxes use XLR connections not USB for these mics ?
Great question! And thanks for the Super! Sorry for the delay in getting back to you, I just moved this past week!
To record audio samples directly from each of the USB mics, I used the stock Quicktime recorder that comes in Apple OS. If you wanted to do more editing to the files later, you could always pull them into a DAW like Garage Band, Pro Tools, Logic, etc and continue post-production. If you're serious about recording your piano and can stretch your budget to $500-$1,000 you can get a better and much more flexible solution that would include a small interface plus 2 mics that you could use for more variety of configurations.
Let me know if you have any followup questions!
@PianistAcademy1 I hope the move went well they can be stressful ! Thanks for the information about how you can record it's interesting that you say QuickTime. This might be a long shot but if you have a PC what could you use ? I know OBS can capture audio would that be the same quality as QuickTime?
I watched this with great angst. Had just purchased Blue Yetti the night before. Can’t wait to try it out. Thanks for the reviews!!
Absolutely! Have fun with the new mic! If you’re using it for voice as well, there’s a free app by Logitech that has a whole bunch of other features that you can directly interface with the Yeti!
@@PianistAcademy1 Piano only!!! Thanks!🎶🎶
Im planning to buy the blue yetti, will this be a good choice for recording my voice when teaching and the piano playing at the same time?? I make youtube piano lessons
Hey, Pianistics! The Yeti is a good choice yes, especially to get started! At some point, you will want to have your piano and your voice in separate audio feeds because it will be cleaner and give you more options, but at least at the beginning, the Yeti will be a great mic for you.
@@PianistAcademy1 thank you so much🌷
Thanks so much for this brilliant video. I am inclined to buy Blue Yeti . Please could you give me some advice on recording software . I am recording my Mum playing The wedding song for my son . This will be played via laptop into Bluetooth speaker. I am thinking of recording into garage band or Audacity. Have you any ideas on eq patterns or settings for these or any advice on any other software . Best wishes for the UK and thanks so much
The Yeti is a great mic! If you are looking for a good and free DAW for recording, Garage Band is a great start. There's also Reaper, which many professional engineers use as well.
EQ and other settings are so individual to each case that it's almost impossible to give advice without hearing the track in question. What's just about guaranteed is that any "preset" EQ or compression will actually make your recording sound worse, not better. My biggest advice to you would be to have a pair of speakers or a good set of headphones that you will work on, listen very carefully to other professional reference material on them (same instrumentation, same vocal range, same style etc) and use the information your ears gather from those references to help aid in the choices you make about EQ and compression. I wish I could be of more help quickly, but unfortunately there isn't a "quick fix" for small projects!
Thanks for the video! Any idea how the Yeti nano would hold up against it's bigger bro?
Great question! I haven’t personally used the nano, but what I’ve read is that the tone is slightly improved from its older, bigger, brother. Improved in that it’s a bit warmer sounding straight from the mic. Maybe I should do a direct comparison between the two!
I have a blue yeti. I agree it transforms the audio for my on-line piano lessons (which are through Zoom). Could you do a program on cameras and camera set-up for on-line lessons and video recordings for those lessons?
Thanks for watching, Louise! And yes, I'd love to!
@@PianistAcademy1 Actually I am looking forward to the camera set up video as well
@@kelvinpiano So I know that my piano is going to be out of commission for a bit in the near future... having a partial rebuild done on it either starting in April or May. That would probably be a perfect time to film another tech video and tackle the video portion of this topic!
Do you have any feedback on a usb microphone for violin? I am finding a microphone that picks up piano, doesn't pick up violin. My kids do both for online classes. Thanks!
Hi Michelle! What kind of mic have you tried on both? As general rule, most microphones that can work for the piano will also excel with violin, but its the reverse that usually isn't true... much to do with how expansive the frequency range of the piano is vs a more limited range from almost all other instruments. The Yeti (and it's siblings) and also the Lyra that I reviewed here should be more than up to the task of working with a violin.
If you have a mic like that and are still having trouble, it might have more to do with the position of the mic than the mic itself. You're going to capture the best sound from a violin if the microphone is in the same "plane" as the soundboard. If you imagine a line coming from the bottom/top of the instrument and extending out at a 90 degree angle, that's, generally, where you need to put a microphone for violin. That means above the instrument (above the student's head) and with the capsules in line with that imaginary line from the instrument. With how most violinist's hold their instrument, that also means not directly in front of the player, but usually up and to their right, again because of how sound comes off the soundboard.
If you have a mic stand and one of the microphones that can easily be attached to one, you'll be able to get it up in the air and where it needs to go to more accurately pick up violin. In that position, it'll also very easily pick up voices for communicating back and forth during online lessons. I hope that helps!
Nice! I have a Yeti that I use to record training videos and love it.
Perfect!
I really enjoyed the new blue yeti microphone and I like singing.
매우 유용한 영상입니다. 큰 도움이 되었습니다.
Thanks for watching! Glad you found it helpful!
where could I buy that stand?
Which stand? Just a standard mic stand? Each of these mics comes with the stands used in the video, so unless you'd like to mount it separately or have more flexibility, a basic stand will already be included.
Thank you. This is exactly the video I was looking for to help me make up my mind.
I’m glad it was helpful! Which one did you end up choosing?
The only issue with your comparisons is that you weren't 'streaming' the audio for a true 'online lesson' comparison. The quality of the mic is but one tiny part of the audio environment when transmitting back & forth. Very helpful comparisons on the overall mic quality though.
If you follow the Google Drive link in the description, there's a folder with recordings made through Zoom, using "Original Audio" and "High Fidelity Music" mode. You can hear my favorite setting for each mic with that audio compression in that folder!